Anybody see A's pitcher McCarthy get hit by that line drive a few days ago? That is some scary shit. Sad to hear he was in life-threatening condition at first but happy to see he is recovering. No one deserves that, ever.

Where in the F'n hell did these A's come from?!?! I honestly thought they'd be a joke this year given the pitching staff fire sale they had. I never once thought winning the West was even a remote possibility let alone actually happen. Crazy

Anybody see A's pitcher McCarthy get hit by that line drive a few days ago? That is some scary shit. Sad to hear he was in life-threatening condition at first but happy to see he is recovering. No one deserves that, ever.

In what's one of the biggest trades in recent history, the Marlins are on the verge of sending shortstop Jose Reyes, left-hander Mark Buehrle, right-hander Josh Johnson, catcher John Buck and utility man Emilio Bonifacio to the Blue Jays in exchange for a package of young players.

Among the young players reportedly headed to Miami are shortstops Yunel Escobar and Adeiny Hechavarria, right-hander Henderson Alvarez and minor-league left-hander Justin Nicolino.

Several sources told MLB.com on Thursday that the ex-Rangers outfielder is on his way to Southern California, signing what Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com and MLB Network first reported to be a five-year, $125 million contract.

Since the contract isn't official yet the Angels didn't speak about it publicly, saying via statement: "As per team policy and MLB rules, the Angels will not comment on the status of any contract negotiations with players. With that said, we continue to look for ways to improve our team. As soon as we have something formal to announce, we will do so."

The deal, a source said, came together pretty quickly.

Until recently, the Angels were planning on sporting no more than a $145 million payroll in 2013, and it seemed like they were done when the acquisition of two starting pitchers (Tommy Hanson and Joe Blanton) and two back-end relievers (Ryan Madson and Sean Burnett) pushed them to about $140 million.

But Angels owner Arte Moreno, one offseason removed from spending more than $315 million on Albert Pujols and C.J. Wilson, saw plenty of opportunity, prompting him to push the payroll to what would be a franchise record of about $165 million:

1. The acquisition of Hamilton makes cost-controlled Angels outfielders like Peter Bourjos and/or Mark Trumbo expendable, giving them an opportunity to trade for a starting pitcher (like knuckleballer R.A. Dickey of the Mets, or perhaps Jeremy Hellickson of the Rays).

2. It counters the big-ticket moves made by the crosstown-rival Dodgers, who are fresh off signing Zack Greinke to a five-year, $147 million contract that the Angels were at one point unwilling to offer.

3. It further cripples the division-rival Rangers, who lost out on trading for James Shields, seemingly won't be able to add Justin Upton and now can't bring back Hamilton. Adding Hamilton comes one offseason after the Angels signed Wilson, the Rangers' former ace, to a five-year, $77.5 million deal.

"Really excited to dust off the Xbox controllers for the next few years on the road," Wilson wrote on his Twitter account, @str8edgeracer. "It's a great day to be an Angel/Angel fan!"

Speaking to Rangers reporters at a media luncheon on Thursday, Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said Hamilton never gave his former club a chance to match the Angels' offer.

"Our full expectation was that the phone call was going to be before he signed, certainly not after and giving us an idea," Daniels told local reporters. "Josh had indicated recently, last week, he told us he felt it might be time to move on, but that we were still talking. I'm not going to get in to the reason, technically, why. I thought we had additional conversations this week that had moved it along in a positive direction. Apparently not."

The 31-year-old Hamilton won the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 2010 and has long been considered one of baseball's best all-around players, hitting .313 while averaging 33 homers and 107 RBIs the last three seasons.

With the Angels, Hamilton's left-handed bat seemingly fits perfectly behind Pujols in the cleanup spot. A lot is still on the table, but the likely scenario seems to have Hamilton starting in left field, Mike Trout staying in center and Trumbo in right, making the chances of Bourjos being dealt more likely than ever.

Bourjos wants to stay in Anaheim, but he also wants an opportunity.

"I'm not sure what's going to happen now," he said when reached by phone Thursday. "But at the end of the day, from my perspective, I just want to play. I really don't want to go through what I went through last year where I wasn't playing. The last two months, I got like three at-bats. So hopefully, if I'm the odd man out, hopefully they're willing to trade me and I'm able to go somewhere and play every day."